"Uhm... Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy said. "I think that you should tell us all what happened now."

The two of them, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Luna were all still outside the weather factory, staring at where they had last seen an electrically charged Lightning Dust holding their friend Twilight Sparkle before disappearing.

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash said, adjusting her grip on the stone under her wing. "Not out here though. It's kind of a long story and I'm going to need something to drink in order to get through. Come on." She started to walk. "There's a restaurant right across the street we can use."

"I wonder if they have desserts," Pinkie Pie said.

"Fluttershy, can-"

"Not now," Fluttershy replied. "You need to have a proper meal."

"But Pinkie Pie is planning to get some," Luna stated, pointing a hoof.

"Pinkie Pie is a full grown mare who can make her own choices."

"When I grow up, I'm going to have a lot more desserts," Luna grumbled.

"Just as long as you still eat properly first," Fluttershy stated with a grin.

The six of them made their way to the restaurant and were quickly seated. Only Pinkie and Luna got food, the others getting beverages. Once the glasses arrived, Rainbow Dash took a long drink.

"Alright, let's get started then.

"The story starts years ago, back at flight camp. Originally Fluttershy was pretty much the only friend I had, basically stopping the other pegasi from picking on her for being a batpony. Well, that was until the princess showed up and invited her to Canterlot."

"Sorry," Fluttershy mumbled. "I didn't mean to leave you alone."

"It's not like that," Rainbow Dash said with a wave of her hoof. "I mean you have nothing to apologize for. If I had been given the chance to get away from a bunch of ponies who made fun of me to live in a castle, I would have taken it too."

Fluttershy smiled.

"Anyway," Rainbow Dash continued, "a couple days after she left, I ended up meeting two others and making new friends. One was a griffon by the name of Gilda that came in late. None dared to make fun of her because of what she was though. The other was Lightning Dust.

"The three of us kind of became infamous pranksters around the camp. It started off pretty basic: whoopie cushions, short-sheeting beds, stuff like that. All three of us were very competitive though, with each other and with ourselves. So we kept ramping up the pranks, making them bigger, bolder and ... more dangerous."

She looked down into her drink, stirring it.

"I was young and foolish. Never really thought about that last part when we were doing the pranks. It was only something I thought about after... the last one."

She put the glass down and pushed it away.

"I don't really want to get into the specifics of what we did. The important part is that it went very badly. So bad that the colt that ended up being the target was hurt and would probably never fly again."

There was silence as Rainbow Dash shifted. She looked at the table as she let out a sigh, wiping at her eyes.

"None of the ponies in charge knew who had caused the accident to occur, so the three of us were going to get away with it... but I couldn't. A pony was hurt and it was our fault. I tried, but it just kept eating at me. So, one night I went to the head of the camp and confessed everything. I even told them about Lightning Dust and Gilda's part in the whole thing.

"So, the three of us were kicked out of flight camp. Gilda was mad, but kind of understood. Lightning Dust... well she acted pretty much the same as you saw. She had always talked about how some day she would become a Wonderbolt, maybe even the captain of it. When we got kicked out, she figured that she would never even get a chance and blamed me. Pretty much the last thing she said to me was that if she ever saw me again, she would make me pay for it.

"And that's pretty much it."

Rainbow Dash grabbed her drink and downed the rest of it. The others sat in silence for a moment, letting the story sink in. Pinkie Pie had been so caught up in listening to the story that her order remained untouched.

"That... that ain't right," Applejack finally said. "I mean I guess I can understand her bein' mad 'bout getting kicked out some, but it was just as much her own fault. Not right to go blamin' you for everything. 'specially for all these years."

"Past aside," Rarity stated, "we now need to decide on what to do about getting Twilight Sparkle back."

"We're going to do exactly what Lightning Dust told us to," Rainbow Dash responded.

The others turned their attention to her once again.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean... do you really think she'll just let Twilight go if you show up?"

"No. I mean... if she's willing to foalnap a pony to get what she wants, I don't think she'll keep her word and just let her go."

"Then why do it?" Pinkie asked.

"Because it's the right thing to do. Because I still think it's our best chance of getting Twilight back." She let out a sigh and tried to get a refill on her beverage. "Besides, it might actually be the last thing she suspects."

"I don't like it," Applejack grumbled.

"I doubt any of us do," Fluttershy said, "but if Rainbow Dash really thinks it's the best way, I say we trust her."

"Thanks," Rainbow said with a smile. It suddenly turned into a frown. "I just hope we can get out of this in one piece."